Magnet
by exec-rain
Summary: Even if I leave... we'll still find each other. I'm drawn to you like a magnet. -AmaruxNaruto-
1. Prologue

**Magnet  
**_Raindrop Memory  
_

- - - - - - - - -

Summary: Deciding to pursue her career as a medical doctor even further in Konohagakure, Amaru bids farewell to her home village, and arrives in the busy village of Leaf shinobi. However, she isn't exactly welcomed with open arms… things go a wry the moment she tries to sought after the man who had helped her nearly two years ago – Uzumaki Naruto.

Preface: Amaru is a movie-only character that appears in Naruto: Shippuuden – Bonds (Kizuna). I generally loved her character and role in the movie's plot, and thought I might write something up for her. Because she doesn't have very much screen time (opposed to her total time on screen versus all other characters appearing in the anime episodes, manga, etc.) I will be fabricating partial bits of her personality to fill in the gaps.

Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own the concept, original story/plot, canon characters, etc. of Naruto/Naruto: Shippuuden. The images, animations and publishing all belong to creator Kishimoto Masashi, TV Tokyo and Shounen Jump!.

Rating: To be on the safe side, I'm putting the rating up as **M (Mature)**. Do be forewarned, that there will be several scenarios of blood, gore, and other nasty little things that would make your stomach churn. Also be noted that the plot will eventually develop into some sort of mature romance.

_Without further ado, please enjoy Magnet._

- - - - - - - - -

Prologue Chapter

- - - - - - - - -

She didn't quite remember how, but for some reason she just did.

A dull pain ached in her legs – it wasn't the jabbing sensation of a torn ligament, nor was it the rippling knife-like agony from a flesh wound. It was fatigue – and her muscles were overexerting, over-exhausted, and were slowly producing toxins that explained the pain one would experience from continuous, vigorous physical activity.

Stopping to catch her breath, a gloved wrist rose up to wipe away at a film of perspire that was clotting her plump brows. Amaru sighed; she could see the gates already, just a few more feet, and she'd be there –

About to straighten back up from her long, grueling walk, she was stopped short when she felt something sharp prickle the back of her neck. A vague breeze brushed her right arm, ruffling the fur on her parka vest.

"What are you doing here?" A voice came – a bit gruff, cautious, but there was something that seemed like concerned hiding in the ripples of suspicion in the man's tone. Amaru's spine stiffened, a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek as she contemplated on what to say. "W-Well…"

The prickling came deeper, and she felt something wet dribbled down her back from the kunai point.

"I-I-I'm traveling… to Konoha…" Amaru bravely responded, but there was still a small stutter in her response. The shadowy figure behind her contemplated her answer for a brief second before drawing the knife away. Turning around, Amaru found herself face-to-face with a tall shinobi, a toothpick characteristically jutting out from his bottom lip, his longish brown hair being kept back by a dark bandanna on his head.

"Reason why?" He asked, his gruff voice perking up once more.

Amaru thought about how to answer him. If she told him the flat-out truth, it would be a bit embarrassing on her part, but…

"I… I'm interested in becoming a citizen of Konoha!" Amaru managed out, and the shinobi glanced at her with an awkward look in his eyes. "Well… that's new. We don't really get… er, immigrants to Konoha that very often." Shaking his head, he twirled the kunai he was holding back into his holster. "In any case, I'll escort you to the administrative building – under surveillance, of course." He added impishly, and she glared back.

Amaru realized that she couldn't possibly understand why she had to be kept on close watch.

"W-Why? I refuse to be treated like a…" She was cut short by the man again, who let out a somewhat irritated sigh, rubbing his bandanna-donned head.

"Look. These days are a time of crisis, so it's natural for a village such as ours, to take safety precautions." He explained, hoping it would relieve some of the anger that was currently clouding her expression at the moment. Amaru sighed, crossly turning a cheek away.

"Fine. Just take me inside the village. Please." She added tartly, and the man nodded, motioning her to follow him.

"Sheesh! Kids and their tempers these days…" He groaned inwardly, passing the massive gates. Glancing back to make sure the pale redhead was following him without running to any sort of immediate trouble, he continued down the dusty path, towards the summit where the Hokage would be waiting.

- - - - - - - - -

Tsunade looked up from her stack of paperwork at the sound of slight knocking on her office door. "Come in," she bad-temperedly replied aloud, and the door opened to reveal a rather tense-looking Shizune who was cradling Ton-Ton in her arms.

"Ah, Shizune. I was looking for you."

Shizune fidgeted a little. "Uhm, Tsunade-sama… there's a guest wanting to speak with you."

The woman's brow arched upwards in question. She didn't recall having Shizune booking her a meeting today. "Who is it? Well, tell him to come in then!" She ushered her, and Shizune nodded somewhat motionlessly to the frame of the doorway. A somewhat tanned-looking boy came in, his light robust locks capped with a dark bandanna. Dark blue eyes glittered at her, and Tsunade took in the strange style of dress he was wearing with a brief glance of her golden eyes.

"And? Who's this?"

"Amaru, ma'am." The boy replied immediately, but held a tone of politeness in his voice. "I'm here to request the possibility of my transfer as a… citizen of Konohagakure."

"So an immigrant, then." Tsunade placed two and two together, cupping the side of her chin with a look of uncertainty in her eyes. "Are you a shinobi? I don't see your forehead protector with your Village's insignia on it."

"I'm… not a shinobi." Amaru replied briskly, scratching the side of her cheek nervously. Were all Konoha ninjas like this? Suspicious to the very core? _'Well, the guy from earlier did say they were in a time of crisis…'_

There was a shred of doubt in Tsunade's eyes now. "Oh? So if you're not a shinobi… then what are you doing here in Konoha?"

"I…" Amaru started, not sure on how to phrase it without embarrassing herself. A slight tinge of blush appeared on her cheeks. "I… want to offer my services as a doctor… due to the help Konoha had given me prior a year ago."

The blonde woman leaned forwards, elbows tipping her desk as she studied Amaru a little more closely. Certainly she was carrying some equipment befitting of a medic; the holsters contained antidote vials, syringes, and rolls of bandages into another pack, along with her scalpel blade. Besides the scalpel, there wasn't any else she could determine as shinobi weapons.

"I see…" Leaning back in her chair, Tsunade folded her hands together, cupping her chin on her knuckles. "So you were one of our clients in the past. I'll see if I can do something to arrange to your request. In the meanwhile, Shizune…" Her eyes shifted over to her trustworthy secretary, who nodded as if she was ready for her orders.

"Team Yamato is on standby, Tsunade-sama. I assume that you're…?" Shizune trailed off, reading the female Hokage's mind easily. A slight smile crept up on Tsunade's face. "Precisely. Have at least one of them guide Amaru around town after we get the paperwork done. Dismissed!"

- - - - - - - - -

Shizune had brought Amaru to a small cafeteria area on the ground level of the administrative building. As they both sat down on the table with a cup of tea each, she went over the process of application with Amaru patiently, whom found all of this rather new, but rather uninteresting.

"Just fill out your name, date of birth, sex, age, etc. in the blanks there." Shizune instructed, and watched Amaru closely as she picked up a pen, slowly and carefully filling out the information. Smiling, Shizune took a small sip from her cup. "So Amaru-kun, where did you come from?"

"Kobosu Village." Amaru curtly replied, continuing to scribble gently as her eyes scanned the paper thoroughly.

A flash of memory struck Shizune. "Y-You mean… back when the Sora Country attacked Konoha… and your village was the one that was…?"

"Yes." Amaru came again, pausing for a moment as she recalled the surprised yet delighted looks of her townspeople gave her when she had rescued them from the prison cell.

This sort of polite and limited conversation continued on for another few minutes until Amaru was completely finished the paperwork. Shizune stacked the papers together neatly, smiling as she glanced back at the new immigrant. "Thank you, Amaru-kun. I'll come fetch you again later today once we figure out where we can place you for the night." Standing up, she checked her wristwatch.

"Speaking of which, someone from Yamato-san's team will come pick you up. Go outside to the front doors with me? We'll wait for them." Shizune smiled, and Amaru returned the gesture, following the woman outside.

"O-Oi! Yamato-taichou, this isn't fair!" A voice roughly protested, strongly echoing in the clearing. Shizune smiled as she saw Yamato coming towards her way, an equally pleasant smile on his face as well, completely ignorant of the scene he had made behind him.

"I see you had to… force him to come, Yamato-san." Shizune stifled a laugh with a hand, and Yamato sighed exasperatingly. Entwined in two long stalks of curved wood, a pair of limbs and legs were thrashing about from the crevices, a mop of bright yellow hair crowning the young Genin's head. "H-Hey! Why can't I stay back for training, huh? I don't want to be a travel guide for some–"

He stopped short when he saw her face, whose eyes were round as saucers.

"Amaru!" He exclaimed delightedly, calming down for a brief moment. A wide grin spread across his face happily. "Oi! I haven't seen you in ages!"

"Yeah." She grinned back, placing her hands on her hips as she surveyed him from below. "Looks mighty cozy up there, Naruto."

Upon hearing his name, he chuckled. "Say, are you the one that's…?"

"Yup."

"That's really great." He laughed, before shooting Yamato a glare. "Now, I would love to come down and show you around…" Yamato sighed, dispelling the jutsu with a Rabbit hand seal, whereupon the Uzumaki landed on the floor rather ungracefully.

"O-Oi… couldn't you be at least… a little gentler, dattebayo…?" Naruto weakly managed out, picking himself up from the floor and dusting his slightly soiled jacket. "A-Anyway!" He cleared his throat, before gesturing towards the pathway that paved towards the village. "Let's get going!"

Grabbing her by the wrist, he pulled Amaru along with him, quickly escaping the vision of both Yamato and Shizune. Yamato sighed once again, before rubbing the back of his head with a faint smile. "He was so persistent with his training, now he's excited from the distraction. Oh well."

Shizune laughed as well. "Well, they're young. This is nothing but a fraction of their time, believe me."

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End of Prologue Chapter

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	2. Chapter 01

**Magnet  
**_Raindrop Memory_

- - - - - - - - -

Summary: Deciding to pursue her career as a medical doctor even further in Konohagakure, Amaru bids farewell to her home village, and arrives in the busy village of Leaf shinobi. However, she isn't exactly welcomed with open arms… things go a wry the moment she tries to sought after the man who had helped her nearly two years ago – Uzumaki Naruto.

Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own the concept, original story/plot, canon characters, etc. of Naruto/Naruto: Shippuuden. The images, animations and publishing all belong to creator Kishimoto Masashi, TV Tokyo and Shounen Jump!.

- - - - - - - - -

Chapter One

- - - - - - - - -

The sky overhead was clearing to a mid-afternoon shine, where a couple of messenger hawks screeched overhead the bustling village. The steam and aroma of food was enticing, Amaru had noted, as she walked alongside her guide, and friend. Naruto had thrown back his arms and rested his head casually back, glancing around lazily as if contemplating on what to say and how to show.

"Well, hmm… over there's a few food stalls… this side of town's mostly shopping and restaurants. Oh! And there's Ichiraku Ramen, I highly recommend that place." He grinned, and Amaru gave a silent nod of her head. They had been touring around the village for quite some time now, and she had been focusing on trying to memorize the general layout of the village, lest she forget and is left to wander on her own.

"Konoha is…certaintly larger than the last time I visited." She finally spoke aloud, thick brows knitting upwards in worriment.

Naruto let eased his arms back down, a serious look settling in his eyes. "Well, yeah… after one of the Akatsuki came and attacked Konoha a while back… I suppose it does seem that way to ya, huh?"

Amaru's eyes widened. "W-Wha? Attack? When did this happen?"

A quick flash of pain clenched Naruto's heart when he remembered the certain silver-haired sennin. "Uh… roughly about a year back. Some parts of town are still being rebuilt."

Sudden silence fell upon both of them, as Amaru looked uncomfortable upon hearing the bad news. She wasn't sure what to say in such a situation – especially since she had been away from contact with Naruto for so long…

"H-Hey… speaking of which, how's Sakura and Hinata?" She briskly intercepted the painful quiet that was starting to develop into something mighty awkward. Naruto perked up at the mention of the pink-haired kunoichi, and smiled a little. "She's fine. And so is Hinata. They're both doing well." It seem to work, as she could see his spirits lifting a bit and the smile had returned.

"That's good. I'd like to meet them sometime – especially Sakura." Amaru beamed back, continuing their slow promenade through the streets. "There are a lot of things I want to ask her about the medical profession."

Naruto gave her an inquiring glance, before nodding understandably. "Ooohh! That's right. Sakura-chan's a medical nin. I'm sure she'll be glad to see you then." He chuckled light-heartedly, rolling up his sleeves. It was early summer, and the weather's been a bit damp and humid as of late.

Amaru's eyes widened, if ever slightly, at the small cicatrix on the belly of his left forearm. It was small, insignificant, but she remembered well.

"N-Naruto, that scar there…" She was about to bring up a finger, but hovered when her mind decided against it. What was she doing? It wasn't like her to act so intimate. Quickly before he could notice she brushed her hand away, glancing away.

Naruto glanced back at her, puzzled. His eyes quickly caught on though, and his lips thinned to a tight line. "Ahh, that. You're still worried about it? I'm tougher than I look." He laughed it off, hastily shoving his hands into his coat pocket. "Don't feel bad, Amaru. I know what Shinnou did was…"

_Oh crap._

Naruto stared at her, who looked slightly blank at the sound of her former sensei's name. "R-Right." She replied nervously, her anxious eyes darting quickly away.

"Hey! If I was gonna get mad at you for stabbing me with your scalpel, then I'd say it in your face." He grinned at her, before looking at the scar once more. It was a thin fold of skin ran across his tanned arm, but it was fairly faint and small. "But I didn't – so there. I'm not mad."

"Yeah. Okay." Amaru smiled briefly, before letting a hand wipe at the side of her neck, a bead of sweat rolling down her cheek. "By the way, was it always this hot in Konoha?"

Naruto grumbled a little. "Well, the weather's been bad lately. Thunderstorms, heat waves, you name it." He sighed, his eyes falling on the pale cream-beige of her furry parka vest. "Then again, you're wearing that stuffy-looking vest, so it's no wonder you're sweating buckets." He pointed out, and Amaru worriedly poked a finger at her attire.

"Y-You think so? Maybe I should have bought a change of clothes appropriate for the weather…" Amaru's fingers tentatively touched the zipper that was zipped all the way up to the hem of her collar, pulling it down slightly.

Naruto recalled the particular 'accident' he had which involved falling into the river, getting bitten by a poisonous piranha, and seeing Amaru's –

"Uhh! On second thought, just hold on to that for a sec." He sheepishly smiled, his hand intercepting hers, pulling it back up for her. "Just bear with it for a bit, okay? Uh, until you find some new clothes." With that, he started to laugh nervously, a drop of sweat sliding down to his chin.

Amaru's brow jerked up quizzically, her hands falling back down to her side. "Okay. Sure."

- - - - - - - - -

After finishing up with the touring, the blonde and redhead were both seated comfortably on dining stools by Ichiraku Ramen, where billows of steam gently smoked into the warm night air, the scent of the salty broth boiling heavy. Old Man Teuchi and Ayame both welcomed Amaru happily, as very so by letting her dine on the house to celebrate her arrival to Konoha.

"Itadakimasu!" Naruto licked his chops, deft fingers pulling apart the pair of wooden chopsticks, quickly grasping it in his hand and began to ladle a stream of moist noodles from his bowl. Amaru, fascinated by the strange, new dish, gingerly dipped her chopsticks into the both, and took a quite lick with her tongue, tasting the broth and temperature.

"I-It's good." She smiled, and Old Man Teuchi and Ayame both glanced together with pleased smiles on their faces.

Just when she was about to delve deeper into the pork morsel that was sitting oh-so-innocently by the top of her ramen, a few crashes and rowdy voices echoed slightly from behind them. Both she and Naruto swiveled their heads around, brushing the cloths imprinted with 'Ichiraku Ramen' for a better look.

And then the wailing came.

The pitiful cry of a child, hobbling over by the side of the streets, curled up on a prostrate position, was cradling his left knee in agony, streams of spilled tears splattering all over his face and front shirt until specks of dirt smudged and soiled. A noticeable tear by the metal fence also caught Amaru's attention, the metal spokes jutting out rather dangerously.

"O-Oi…" Naruto started, sipping a piece of noodle into his mouth.

Amaru slammed her chopsticks back down on the table, darting off as she dashed towards to the little boy, whereupon his mother was already nervously fussing over him, panic swarming her eyes. Kneeling down beside him, she placed a hand on his shoulder. A mess of brown hair shivered for a moment, before the boy's round face leaned up, his teary eyes meeting hers.

"Where does it hurt?" She quickly asked, her voice falling to a hushed tone as not to startle him.

He painfully unfurled his leg, and Amaru froze when she saw the deep gash by his knee.

"What's your name?" She asked again, her fingers searching her back pockets for a roll of medical bandages. He hiccupped, though it didn't cease the flow of tears that continued to dribble down his plump cheeks. "K-Koichi."

Koichi's mother glanced at her worriedly, her bottom lip quivering. "H-He was running… and he ran into the broken fence…" Amaru glanced back at the spoke, and noticed a tinge of blood on it. Nodding, she turned back to Koichi.

"I see! That's a really cool name, ya'know?" Amaru grinned, pushing his shorts back a little. The last thing she wanted was to have anything foreign in contact with the open wound. "Now, Koichi-kun, this is going to hurt a little bit, but I want you to squeeze my arm if it hurts too much, okay?" She smiled at him, and he nodded wordlessly, a small hand trying to wipe away at the tears.

Quickly, she sectioned his knee off by wrapping end points around the base of his thich, and the top of his calf. Excess blood began to flow harder, and Koichi squeezed her arm. She paused, before unwrapping her bandanna from her head, and wrapped it around Koichi's tear-soaked eyes.

"N-Nee-chan?" His voice came, worried at the strange action she was performing. Amaru patted his head comfortingly. "I know you don't want to see this, Koichi-kun. I'll be as quick as I can." True to her words, her fingers had already reached for a piece of cotton, and dousing it with a water from a large capped bottle, she began to wash his wound, water mixed with blood dripping on the floor. After wiping it down, she uncapped a bottle of alcohol, and doused a fresh wad of cotton with it.

Taking in a deep breath, Amaru poised herself. "Here goes." Swiftly the cotton came down, and from the corners of her eyes, a wet patch of tears began to soak through her bandanna. The cloth was by then, too wet to hold anymore, and they began to drip down Koichi's face. Tossing the blood-stained wad, her fingers unfurled another fresh roll of bandages, preparing to wrap up. The white swabbed around his left, snug but not too tight, and at the end, she was done, tying a nice ribbon with the ends of the bandages.

Smiling back at him, she patted his leg, and helped him back up to his feet. A look of dazed wonderment passed through the mother, and she took Koichi into her arms, a grateful smile curling on her lips.

"Thank you." She whispered, and Amaru nodded back pleasantly. Koichi sniffed, having already untied the bandanna, and was grasping it tightly in his small fist. He shyly gave it to her, his nose red from the teary breakdown.

"Thank you, nee-chan." He whispered as well, and Amaru accepted it, relief sinking through her heart. "I'm just glad you're okay."

She waved goodbye to the boy and his mother as they continued along their way, and was about to head back to her dinner when she was a bit startled to see a single, laid-back eye staring back at her. Jerking backwards, Amaru took quite a few steps back until she could make out that the floating eye wasn't her imagination, but was part of a solid body that was currently a bit _too_ close for her preference.

"Yo." His voice came. She noted of the devilish, messy grey locks that spiked ruthlessly to one side. A good portion of the man's face was hidden beneath dark cloth mask, his shinobi forehead protector sliding down messily, covering his right eye completely. He was wearing the olive-green vest, identical to the one the man whom she had met earlier on the day, was wearing.

"Oi," Naruto's voice came, and he brusquely nudged this strange man out of her line of vision, glancing back at Amaru with an apologetic look on his face. "Don't mind Kakashi-sensei, he's a bit weird." Amaru glanced back wordlessly at the grey-haired man nervously, and swore she could've seen a flicker of a smile beneath the mask.

"Naruto told me about you – er, well, I caught up during your show of bravado back there." He came swiftly, a tinge of curiosity flickering in his dark eye. "Yeah! That was pretty cool of you, Amaru. You really saved that little boy back there." Naruto grinned, patting her on the back. "We can chat back at Ichiraku, your ramen's getting cold."

Following the pair back to her seat, Amaru finished her dinner without much interruptions, aside from the occasional questions she was pelted with from Old Man Teuchi, and a few questioning glances from Kakashi. After finishing her meal, she nodded thankfully to Ayame and Old Man Teuchi, setting her chopsticks back down.

"Gochisousama. Thanks for the food." Amaru smiled, and promptly tied her hair back up within the folds of her bandanna, returning back to her usual boyish appearance.

A shuffle of footsteps, and her head turned around at the noise. Shizune was in view, walking towards her merrily, long sleeves trailing behind her in tow.

"Shizune-san…"

"Ah! Amaru-kun. I thought you would be here." Shizune smiled quickly at her, and bowed politely in Kakashi's direction. "Kakashi-san. Pleasure to see you as well."

"Likewise." He replied.

"If you're here, does it mean you found a place of lodging for me?" Amaru asked hopefully, and Shizune nodded with a smile.

"Tsunade-sama thought that it would be best to save money and expense, and so I gathered a few possibilities about the housing problem." Shizune smiled, taking a seat beside Amaru, holding a folder filled with files, including the package she had Amaru fill out earlier. She nodded almost excitedly, leaning forwards as her grin widened.

"You'll room up with Naruto-kun! How's that sound?" Shizune suggested animatedly. _'For a boy like Amaru, certainly he won't mind the company of another friend!' _She thought with another smile, confident that Amaru would accept right away.

Amaru's blood froze. Naruto dropped Gama-chan back on the counter once he heard her words.

"W-W-What?!"

A furious, seething hotness ravaged her cheeks in a fiery blush, and Amaru stood up abruptly, the stool falling down. Shizune looked up in shock, her mouth agape. "B-But Amaru-kun, aren't you happy that there's no rent–"

"E-Even so!" Amaru protested hotly, another wave of red swarming her face until she was sure nobody could differentiate the colour of her cheeks from her hair. "I-I-I'm a girl!"

Shizune dropped her purse.

"A-Amaru-kun? You're a _girl_?"

"Y-Yes!" The heated response came once more.

Shizune scrambled through the file, grabbing a hold of the biographical information sheet.

"O-Oh my God, you're right." Shizune nearly fainted when her eyes laid sight on the circle that was marked 'Female' had been filled out.

Kakashi continued to look on with interest, his eyes taking in the scene with a mild glint of amusement.

Naruto got up onto his feet again, stuffing Gama-chan back into his pocket. "W-Well, uh! Can't you do something about this, then?"

Shizune buried her face with her hands. "Well… not really… the new apartments are still under construction… I can't just… simply _dump_ Amaru-kun to the Haruno or Yamanaka households… I…"

"Tsunade-sama won't be happy about the little… gender switch." Kakashi off-handed commented, and Amaru shot him a withering glare.

"Y-You're right. She won't be." Shizune sighed, snapping the folder shut. Straightening back up, she gazed at Naruto, who jerked back in mild surprise at her searing gaze. "Now Naruto… I can't help you anymore in this situation as I can already… even though I was the one who made the mistake here."

"Wha.."

Shizune gazed at Amaru, who was still thoroughly beet-red, knowing the impending doom that was nigh approaching.

"Amaru-kun – er, Amaru-chan. We don't have much options, as we're limited to offer any sort of resources or lodgings as we are now. I apologize for our inability to grant you the hospitality you so deserve." A pang of guilt came through Amaru's heart somewhat achingly. Shizune continued one. "Now, I know it's hard for you, but I suppose living with Naruto shouldn't be too bad." With that, she shot a precautionary glare at Naruto, as if to say, "Don't try anything funny."

Naruto gulped rather audibly.

Amaru's face scrunched up almost distastefully, but in the end she nodded wordlessly, her face giving up into a pout.

"Be on your best behaviour, Naruto." Kakashi patted the young blonde on the shoulder. "Amaru's in your hands now."

"R-Right." He glanced warily back at Amaru, who looked back at him with doubt in her eyes.

- - - - - - - - -

End of Chapter One

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Author's Notes: Funnily enough, I managed to finish this chapters a few hours shortly I submitted the prologue. Enjoy the double update!


	3. Chapter 02

**Magnet  
**_Raindrop Memory_

- - - - - - - - -

Summary: Deciding to pursue her career as a medical doctor even further in Konohagakure, Amaru bids farewell to her home village, and arrives in the busy village of Leaf shinobi. However, she isn't exactly welcomed with open arms… things go a wry the moment she tries to sought after the man who had helped her nearly two years ago – Uzumaki Naruto.

Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own the concept, original story/plot, canon characters, etc. of Naruto/Naruto: Shippuuden. The images, animations and publishing all belong to creator Kishimoto Masashi, TV Tokyo and Shounen Jump!.

- - - - - - - - -

Chapter Two

- - - - - - - - -

Dusk was falling into a deep night by the time they had reached the apartment complexes. The units were stacked somewhat eerily upon another, forming strange shapes in the darkness with occasional glints of white from the moonlight hovering above. Amaru gripped her rucksack tightly as she followed Naruto into the small passage that lead to the front entrances.

"Well! Here we are." He dimly managed aloud, shooting a quick backward glance at her before ascending the flight of fire-escape stairs, up towards a few levels. Amaru followed closely from behind, and she couldn't help but to notice the sounds of night crickets and late cicadas humming their tune peacefully despite the morbid situation she was in. As if they were openly mocking her, she only clutched her things to her chest tighter, feeling the uneasy distraught stirring inside her.

The stairs extended to a broad platform, where various other tenants living in separate apartments were filed in a single line like a row in front of Amaru's eyes. It was something that was still rather alien to her, as she was accustomed in living little huts in her village, and those were often scattered randomly about near the river. Holding her questions on her tongue, Amaru silently followed the blonde-haired ninja further up a few more stairs, until the fourth or fifth platform which, much to her horror, leered and jutted dangerously out in mid-air, distancing themselves quite a length from the floor.

Unlocking the door quickly, Naruto pushed the door of his cramped apartment open, making his way in where he kicked off his padded sandals, unzipping his jacket. Amaru blinked a little, before doing the same, and slipped off her boots, her socks padding silently upon the floorboards as she followed him.

"Uhmm…" Naruto stopped, glancing around him. "The stove and fridge are by your right there." He gestured, and sure enough, by the very corner was a small oven and stove-top, complete with a kitchen's countertop that curved around. Possibly used for cooking or dining upon, Amaru noted. Naruto continued.

"If you keep heading past the kitchen there… the bathroom's just right there, with the toilet and my room."

Amaru nodded.

"And we're standing in the living room." Naruto felt a drop of sweat slide down to his chin.

"I know." Amaru pointedly replied.

"I'll… just get things ready." Naruto scurried away to the depths of his room, and Amaru let out an exasperated sigh. At first she was convinced that perhaps living with boy her age shouldn't be too bad, considering it was normal of siblings of the opposite sex to live together anyway. But they weren't siblings. And this was Naruto we're talking about. Dropping her rucksack by the couch, she plopped down, feeling immensely tired from all the traveling, the shouting, and the surprise she'd received from Shizune…

Turning over to her side in a dejected manner, Amaru laid in that position for a few minutes, her mind wandering. She could hear Naruto cleaning up messily, and was going back and forth from a closet. _'He's probably trying it hide his mess.'_ She thought hazily, before sitting back up. Sniffing herself, Amaru made a face, obviously not pleased by her own state of cleanliness.

Standing up, she went over to the entrance of his room, where she saw Naruto furiously changing bed sheets and linen, whipping up a storm of a mess in the process. "Uhm… Naruto…?"

He glanced up, a little surprised before turning around, scratching the back of his head. "Er, Amaru! What's up?"

"May I use your bath?"

"S-Sure."

"Thank you." Amaru nodded her thanks, before disappearing from view. Naruto stood there, a little frozen in place, before slapping himself.

"S-stop this, Naruto!" He hissed to himself, feeling the familiar heat returning to his face. "Y-You're not Ero-Sennin! E-Even if he lives with you in s-spirit… a-and we're both s-sa- ugh! That's not what I meant!" He threw his hands up in exasperation at the peak of cursing himself, before noticing that Amaru had returned with a change of clothes in her arms, staring back at him as if she didn't know what to say.

"H-Have a good bath!" He blurted out instantly, and she slammed the bathroom door immediately without a reply. The doorknob lock clicked loudly, signaling her precaution of whatever peeking he had planned, had been counterattacked.

Naruto face-palmed, emitting a loud smack in the stillness of the night, face still beet-red, heart still thumping. Was he a pervert? _'Of course not! I'm… I'm a decent man. I think._' He thought miserably, before sinking to a seat upon his bed. This was going to be harder than he originally thought it would be.

- - - - - - - - -

Amaru felt the last bits of air escaping into the bath with her as she slammed the door behind her, the breeze tousling her hair. Leaning against the door, she let out a long sigh, heart pounding. What was that just now? Was he planning some sort of… antic? Visibly shuddering, Amaru lifted her head up, staring the bath with sullen eyes. She should stop this sort of thinking. Honestly, who did she think she was? She had no right to think about herself in such a situation.

Especially since she wasn't anything special in the first place.

Barging into Konoha like that, demanding for lodging, going even to the limits of requesting to be a legalized civilian in pen and ink, it was a bit absurd, now that she thought about it. As the guilt settled in even deeper, Amaru moaned in her hands gently, before turning to face the bathroom door. Locking it quickly, she hung her clothes upon the hooks that were nailed on the door's backside.

The bath was generally clean, much to her surprise. Amaru supposed that a person such as Naruto, a sole wash under the shower daily would suffice, as she noted by a thin film of dust in the bathtub. Letting the water run from the tub tap, she splashed some water over the clean but dusty surface, washing away the dust before plugging the tub, filling it with hot water. Satisfied, she untied her bandanna, letting her wild locks cascade down her back. The bath was gathering steam, and thus she hastily unzipped her vest off, hanging it by the clothes rack nearby.

Quickly glancing about once more, Amaru noticed that there were some clean towels on a upper rack hanging beside the body-length mirror. Taking one down, she placed it by the basin top, and stripped down, whereupon she reached for the shower knob and some shampoo.

Meanwhile outside, Naruto had just finished cleaning out most of the junk in his room, and had given his bed a new change of sheets and bedding. Fluffing up his pillow, he wasn't really sure what to do next, but he felt like he should do something, lest she'd do something violent to him if something's amiss or not suited to her comfort and luxury back home. But then again, she wasn't Sakura. And he wasn't a girl, so he wouldn't know what to think.

Feeling a little agitated, Naruto didn't quite notice he was still in his outdoors clothes, still wearing orange slacks and a thin, black chain-mail mesh shirt like most customary shinobi. He wandered back out to the living room, where he tugged a window open to get some air into the stuffy apartment. What next? His kitchen was bare, and he didn't know if she wanted something to drink or eat after she took a bath. Feeling even more anxious, and after a few minutes of debating, he decided to reach for the phone, the thought of calling Sakura for help easing his numb mind.

Dialing the number (which, for some reason which comes across us, isn't so strange) he knows by heart by now, he pressed the receiver earpiece close to his ear, trudging up some golden locks. Running a hand through his hair in a nervous habit, he listened as the tone continue to ring, before the clatter of a phone being picked up, some clumsily fumbling, and a pleasant voice.

"Hello? Haruno household."

"S-Sakura-chan?" He croaked out, and he could almost imagine her face stiffening up.

"N-Naruto! Why are you calling so late?" She replied in a snappish tone, easily feeling irritated knowing that it was her idiot teammate that was calling. Naruto chuckled nervously.

"T-Tsunade-baa didn't tell you yet?"

Sakura seemed to pause for a moment, before her speaking up once more – unfortunately, with a bit too much sarcasm than Naruto would've liked. "Ohhhh. You mean _that._ Yes, I've heard of it." There was a bit of bitterness in her tone, and Naruto wasn't sure why his heart tugged at him at that moment.

"W-Well. I need some help."

"With Amaru-kun?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"What do you need help on?" Sakura's tone lightened a little, her natural temper toning down once her mind was slowly being wrapped around the issue of a fellow woman in distress.

"She… she seems to be mad at me. I'd figured you would know what to do… y'know, help her make herself at home at my, uh, place." He gulped at the last part, not knowing how well Sakura's reaction would turn out.

"Isn't it natural for every girl to loathe you if they found out that they had to live with you?" She deadpanned, and Naruto sweat-dropped visibly. "S-Sakura-chan…"

"Well. In any case, you should stock up that empty fridge of yours. Buy some fresh fruit. Say, did you check if your milk's expired yet?" Sakura's motherly role took over, and the level of concern in her voice was overwhelming. Naruto shook his head, before realizing dumbly that he was on the phone.

"Uhhh, not yet. And fruit? What? Girls dig that?" He asked incredulously.

Sakura didn't sound too pleased on the other end of the line. "Shows how much you know. Anyway, I'll come over. I'll bring some fruit over. Besides, I haven't seen Amaru-kun yet." There seemed to be a happy perk to her voice now, and Naruto smiled a little. Sakura was overall, honestly a good person.

"Thanks, Sakura-chan. I owe you one."

"Just don't mess up on our next mission, and consider yourself debt-free." She remarked amusedly, before hanging up.

Naruto followed suit, glancing back at the kitchen. Knowing himself, there were probably… breadcrumbs in the cabinets. Yay.

Trotting over, just to make sure the Gods really didn't bestow some sort of miracle to him; he opened each cabinet, checking their contents. There was nothing but plates, glass cups, and a single cup of outdated ramen. Scratching his head as he closed them shut, he swerved around, opening the refrigerator. As Sakura had predicted, there was only a few cartons of milk – one with a distinct smell to boot. Pinching his nose, he pulled the bad carton out, checking inside, before promptly dumping it into the trash can without another thought.

Luckily for him, there was a bottle of Calpis that wasn't touched yet. Remembering that he had purchased a pack of the yoghurt-tasting soda just a few days ago, Naruto figured that it would be safe to drink. He pulled it out, putting in on the counter to contend with it later for Amaru. Perhaps that might ease her mood, he thought dimly.

Closing the fridge door, he sighed again. Quite frankly, he was sighing a lot tonight.

"Man, taking care of a girl and making sure she doesn't pummel you to death is… _exhausting._" Naruto leaned against the counter top, relaxing for a moment, eyes glazing over as he let his mind drift to a random nothingness in an attempt to clear his head.

- - - - - - - - -

Amaru sank deeper into the water with great pleasure, feeling her entire body's sore bones and aching muscles melt into nothing by the warm waters, enjoying her hot bath therapy to the fullest. It was a delightful change to enjoy her bathing times in private now, especially since back at the village she was too poor to own her own private bath. Going to the public bathhouse wasn't exactly… the most thrilling part of her day, to say at the least. To finally enjoy something such as this was blissful. Life was too good.

Deciding that it was time to get out of the bath as her fingertips and toes were wrinkling up, Amaru got up, getting out of the bath quickly. Water trickled down her lithe legs, and she stepped into the shower area, where all the excess water flowed down to the drain in a decline. Wrapping the towel securely around her body, Amaru picked up a smaller towel and began to dry her hair. Stepping over to the door, she picked up her pajamas, before realizing something.

_Oh shit._ _Shit, shit, shit._

Amaru's face crumpled when she realized she forgot something. Something very important.

Almost immediately her hand flew to the doorknob, but realized that Naruto was in the apartment. _'Right. This is his place afterall.'_ She thought in despair, fingers shaking, heart pounding. But what can she do? Sliding down to her knees, Amaru collapsed to the floor in defeat.

She'd forgotten her bra and panties.

- - - - - - - - -

Naruto paced back and forth in the living room, half anticipating Sakura's arrival, and half anticipating when Amaru would come back from her bath. She was taking an awful long time, but he figured that it was only natural, seeing as Sakura would have taken around the same amount of time. Stopping by the couch, he flopped down in exasperation, feeling tired from just waiting.

"Hurr?" Something soft yet firm was lying beneath his fingers. Glancing to his left, Naruto nearly did a double take, narrowly missing a lamp stand in the process. What was that doing there? _What was that doing there?_

It was white. And it was lacy.

_It was a bra._

Naruto gulped; sweat sliding silently down his temple. There it was, sitting innocently on top of Amaru's pack of belongings. Folded neatly with the straps tucked back, it was just there, shining for the entire world to see.

And it was Amaru's.

'_Goddammit, Naruto. It's just a bra. It's completely normal. Very normal.'_ His brain tried to reassure him, and he pulled his gaze away, forcing himself not to look. But… but the question was… _What was it doing there?_

It's not like Amaru to leave something like that behind. She was very careful about her things. Especially since the last time he even inquired about her being a woman, he'd received a very painful slap, one which he did _not_ want again.

The answers were clicking in Naruto's head. She'd taken a change of belongings with her prior entering the bath, as he had recalled. So… that means… she'd left it behind?

Which means…

"Oh my God!" He nearly shrieked out in terror, jumping to his feet and fleeing back to his room in safety. He pushed the door behind, not quite closing it, and flicked on the radio in an attempt to distract himself and his wandering thoughts. Amaru was going to kill him. Either way, even if he did nothing wrong, there will be murder tonight.

- - - - - - - - -

'_Maybe he's still cleaning up his room.'_ Amaru thought, and a quick plan formed in her head. If Naruto as she believed, was still cleaning his room, then all she would have to do, was sneak out without him seeing her, snatch her articles of undergarment, and flee back to the bathroom before he notices. Sounds like a good plan.

Gathering up her courage, she silently and slowly unlocked the door, wrenching the doorknob open slowly. Peeking through the crack, she could see the door to his room wasn't exactly closed, but it seemed to be pushed against the door in a loose manner. She could see his back faced against the door through the door crack, busying himself with cleaning something. Sounds of a radio playing inside could be heard. A sigh of relief escaped her lips, and she opened the bathroom door, where she began to tiptoe out towards the living room.

'_Slowly does it, Amaru! Rushing won't help you!'_ She held her breath as she continued her walk of stealth down the hall, glancing around quickly, before her eyes landed on the rucksack sitting upon the couch. And sitting upon the rucksack, was her bra. And panties, which were tucked beneath that.

'_Yosh! I've got it now.'_ Amaru happily darted forwards, but immediately froze and jumped in fright when something black and _large_ darted across the floorboards right in front of her.

A scream escaped her throat, and she backed up, clutching the towel tightly around her body. Pure fear seized her – nothing else mattered right now, but to kill –

"A-Amaru!" Naruto bellowed, throwing back his bedroom door in a crash, scurrying towards the living room. "What happened?!" He skidded to a halt, when he found her cowering in a corner of the living room, shivering, with nothing on but a towel –

He fought back the incredible urge of a nosebleed at that moment, turning away before he could see anymore, his hand clutching his mouth and nose.

"N-No! Naruto! Kill it!" Amaru shrieked at him, eyes livid. He turned around hesitantly, before noticing the large black spot on the floor.

"C-Cockroach?!" He exclaimed in disbelief, and Amaru had whipped out her scalpel as if it were a means to defend herself against the large roach, which was scuttling around the floor calmly, whiskers twitching tentatively. Well, it looks like the girl had the sense to bring her trusty scalpel around, but _not_ her underwear, it seems. Naruto gulped, looking around. There was a copy of Konoha Daily lying by the tabletop, and he grabbed it, rolling it up.

"I-I'm… I'm not too good with roaches myself…" He shakily said aloud, advancing towards the cockroach carefully. With his blue eyes locked upon the dark target, he raised the roll up like a samurai sword, letting it crash down in a powerful velocity and speed. There was a crunch, and he lifted the roll up, expecting a crushed body beneath.

It wriggled.

And then it scuttled away – towards a frightened Amaru.

"I-It's still alive!"

Without thinking, our blonde hero whipped out a kunai, before throwing it expertly at the fast-moving target, pinning it against the floorboards. It squirmed in a frenzied agony, before it died, legs still twitching slightly afterwards. Amaru was breathing deeply now, the shock still passing overly slowly.

"H-Hey, Amaru." Naruto hesitantly took a step forwards, carefully making his way around the pinned cockroach. "A-Are you… are you alright?"

Amaru looked at him, then back at the cockroach with a terrified expression on her face. "Y-Yeah…" She replied shakily, her eyes still glued on the dead husk and the executioner; the kunai blade.

"Uhm… can you stand up?" Naruto inquired once more, offering a hand. Amaru twitched a little, before taking his hand. "Ahhh… my legs are a little… haha…" She laughed weakly, hoisting herself up with his help. "T-Thanks."

"N-No problem." He fumbled clumsily.

An awkward silence filled the air after that, before the two realized the sort of situation they were in.

"S-Sorry!" He quickly turned around, his back facing her. "You should go get changed." He quietly added, and Amaru glanced away, tomato cheeks flaring back up again. She was about to reach over to her things, when her foot slipped on a puddle of water she had trailed from the bathroom, and the world was tumbling upside-down, her vision blurring from the momentum of her backwards fall…

A loud crash resounded in the apartment, which was followed by a few moans and groans from the two.

The floor was hard, soft, and lumpy at the same time. This was most definitely weird, much to Amaru's surprise. As her vision cleared up and the blotted black faded away, she pushed herself up from the floor, feeling a sore once more.

"A-Amaru…" A weak voice came from beneath. She glanced down.

Naruto, looking thoroughly bruised and battered, was being pinned down by her. A shiver of shock ran through her body. An indescribably sort of noise came from her mouth at their position, and she was about to jump off when the front door opened.

"Oi! Naruto, I'm here. I brought some stuff with me." A rather feminine voice called out. At that moment, Amaru's head swiveled to face the newcomer, her heart dropping into a bucket of liquid nitrogen.

And at that very same moment, the flap of towel that was once oh-so-snug nestled tightly around her torso, came loose and fell apart where her endowment pushed themselves into view. Naruto, whose line of vision was directly in front of everything that was happening, couldn't save the picture into his memory, seeing as the file size was too big for his processors to handle. Everything froze, and his OS died.

He blacked out, but not before a shower of blood came spurting out of his nose.

- - - - - - - - -

Author's Notes: This chapter took a bit longer to write… mainly because I had to plan various scenarios and map them out in my head before going along with the plan. Otherwise, I had fun writing this chapter. Lots of ecchi comedy and whatnot. And to think that I'm a girl as well. I enjoy these things once in a while. It's a guilty pleasure, haha. I'm looking forward in writing the next chapter, so you guys just hang on a bit more! Thanks so much for the encouraging reviews and favourites/alerts. It's really made me happy, honestly.

In case which some of you guys are wondering… the bathroom is a typical Japanese bath. The bathroom is separate from the water closet (where the toilet is). In this case, Naruto's bath is divided into two sections; the shower and the bathtub. Normally, a person would take a quick shower where they clean themselves and wash their hair, before soaking in the tub. That's what I've illustrated in this chapter… just so you won't get confused.

Also, Calpis is a soft-drink of sorts. It has a yoghurt flavour to it, and is a little fizzy resembling like a light soda. It's surprisingly refreshing, and most people enjoy drinking it after a hot bath. One can easily buy a Calpis drink at a local convenience store.


End file.
